The latest update for Pokemon GO is a rather substantial one, making major changes to gym battles and adding raids. The latter sees players battle special Pokemon that have taken over gyms in limited time events, and while these raid bosses are usually formidable foes, sometimes they're creatures as weak as Magikarp.

In Pokemon GO, the raid battles against Magikarp are a walk in the park compared to other bosses. Most Magikarps players will encounter in raids have low CP, and none of them have any moves that do any damage. What this means is that players can essentially gang up on Magikarp and defeat it without having to worry about any of their Pokemon taking damage or fainting.

Some people might find a can't-lose battle rather boring, but it's still worth taking the time to fight Magikarps in raid battles. Even though Magikarps are weak, the rewards for winning the raids are the same as raid battles against stronger enemies, so the fights are definitely worthwhile for trainers.

By adding Magikarp as a raid boss, Niantic has once again shown that the company has a soft spot for the creature, despite its general uselessness. In the past, Niantic has honored Magikarp in other ways, such as making it one of the first shiny Pokemon players could catch in the game.

Niantic's love for Magikarp may be because it is one of the most captured Pokemon in Pokemon GO. While Magikarp may not be as common as Pokemon like Pidgey and Rattata, it does tend to pop up a lot around bodies of water. Plus, the fact that it takes 400 Magikarp candy for it to evolve into Gyarados means players have extra incentive to catch as many Magikarp as possible.

With over 500 million Magikarp caught in Pokemon GO since launch, fans can expect Niantic to keep doing special things with the creature in the future.

Pokemon GO is available now for iOS and Android mobile devices.

Source: Kotaku